Articles tagged with Wintersleep

Postdata‘s self-titled debut is a intimate set of hushed bedroom folk that has become one of my favourite albums so far in 2010. I’ve written several articles about the disc, most notably an interview with songwriter Paul Murphy over at Exclaim!. I also reviewed his show at the Media Club here in Vancouver and wrote a quick news piece when his band Wintersleep released a new single on Monday. I officially declare March 2010 “Murphypalooza.”

The new Wintersleep single is called “New Inheritors,” and its mid-tempo R&B groove somehow manages to be peppy and sleepy and menacing all at the same time. The song follows the same formula that Motown hitmakers once used: that any decent soul song depends almost entirely on its bass groove. All the horns and keys have to do is hum along and let the rhythm section do all the work. It’s not quite the revelation that “Weighty Ghost” was, but it’s definitely a strong tune from the Halifax outfit. (Hey, do those horns sound familiar?)

Postdata is the side project of Wintersleep frontman Paul Murphy, who started the band as a collaboration with his brother Michael. They initially convened to record some songs as a present for their mother, and, pleased with the results, rented better equipment and set about making an official album.

The duo’s self-titled debut is due out on January 26, and it’s a hushed collection of acoustic folk songs overlayed with spacy electronics. The lead single is called “Tobias Grey,” and it’s a typically bare-bones offering. Murphy’s voice is scarcely louder than a whisper as he sings over a sparse arrangement of acoustic arpeggios and quietly purring keyboards. During the bridge, Murphy’s voice is layered with a dense wash of harmonies, which is about the closest any song on the album gets to a crescendo. This is one for the morning after.